The present invention is directed to the field of personal carriers. More particularly, this invention is directed to a personal carrier which can be reconfigured to support any of a variety of items.
Walkers, joggers, hikers, hunters and fishermen need a place to carry a squeeze bottle or other beverage container. In addition, workmen use a variety of ways to support tools such as hammers, caulking guns, spray guns, nail guns, paint rollers, spray cans, cleaning spray bottles, levels, squares and a variety of other items. Further, while they may wish to support a tool at a particular time, they may wish to support a beverage bottle or some different sized article at another time.
It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a personal carrier which can be configured to carry any of a number of different sized and shaped articles. The carrier comprises a generally rectangular sheet which is perforated by a first plurality of holes configured in a second plurality of vertical rows permitting said sheet to be wrapped into any one of a third plurality of different sized sleeves; attachment means extending through a fourth plurality of said holes to secure said sheet in said one of said third plurality of different sized sleeves; means to form a bottom of said one of said third plurality of different sized sleeves; and means to secure said sleeve to a body portion of a person. The sheet is preferably made of leather, plastic or canvas.
Attachment means may be a strand of plastic, nylon, cotton, leather or a blend thereof The generally rectangular sheet could be formed with integrally extending straps which can be looped through some of the first plurality of holes. Alternatively, the sheet can be formed with a plurality of integral nubs which are configured to fit within complimentarily shaped holes in the sheet to form any of a plurality of different sized sleeves. The nubs may be formed as buttons which fit into one leg of a figure-8 opening, the two legs being interconnected by a slot so that the button can be slid from a first of the figure-8 arms into the second which is recessed to allow the button to sit flush with the surface of the sleeve.
A variety of bottoms can be provided for the personal carrier of the present invention. The bottom may be constructed by weaving a second portion of the strand used to fasten the sheet into the sleeve back and forth across a common horizontal row of holes to create a bottom. Alternatively, a separate strap could be provided which can be secured to the sleeve using a two-piece rivet. Another possibility is the bottom element has a plurality of arms each with a plurality of nubs which can be inserted into the complimentarily shaped holes to form a closed end sleeve. An integral tab on the top edge of the generally rectangular sheet can be folded over and secured to form an opening to receive a belt or other strap used to secure the personal carrier to a portion of the user.
The device is flexible in its use and two sleeves can be connected to provide a larger carrier for longer items or the bottom omitted to permit the excess length to protrude if the item has an overhanging portion or fits snugly within the sleeve. The sleeve can be reconfigured to receive different sized articles for subsequent uses of the carrier.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after a reading of the following specification.